Laramie was named for Jacques LaRamie, a French or French-Canadian trapper who disappeared in the Laramie Mountains in the late 1810s and was never heard from again. He was one of the first Europeans to visit the area. European-American settlers named a river, mountain range, peak, US Army fort, county, and city for him. More Wyoming landmarks are named for him than for any other trapper but Jim Bridger.[9] Because the name was used so frequently, the town was called Laramie City for decades to distinguish it from other uses.

Laramie was founded in the mid-1860s as a tent city near the Overland Stage Line route, the Union Pacific portion of the first transcontinental railroad, and just north of Fort Sanders army post. The rails reached Laramie on May 4, 1868 when construction crews worked through town. A few passengers arrived on that same day.[10][11] The first regular passenger service began on May 10, 1868, by which time entrepreneurs were building more permanent structures. Laramie City (as it was known in early years) soon had stores, houses, a school, and churches.[12] Laramie's fame as the western terminal of the Union Pacific Railroad, acquired when the 268-mile (431 km) section from North Platte, Nebraska was opened in May ended in early August 1868 when a 93-mile (150 km) section of track was opened to Benton, 6 miles (9.7 km) east of present-day Sinclair, Wyoming.

Laramie suffered initially from lawlessness. Its first mayor, M. C. Brown, resigned his office on June 12, 1868 after six turbulent weeks, saying that the other officials elected alongside him on May 2 were guilty of "incapacity and laxity" in dealing with the city's problems.[13] This was due to the threat to the community from three half-brothers, early Old Westgunman"Big" Steve Long, Con Moyer and Ace Moyer. Long was Laramie's first marshal, and with his brothers owned the saloonBucket of Blood. The three began harassing settlers, forcing them to sign over the deeds to their property to them. Any who refused was killed, usually goaded into a gunfight by Long. By October 1868, Long had killed 13 men.

The first Albany County sheriff, rancher N. K. Boswell, organized a "Vigilance Committee" in response. On October 28, 1868, Boswell led the committee into the Bucket of Blood, overwhelmed the three brothers, and lynched them at an unfinished cabin down the street. Through a series of other lynchings and other forms of intimidation, the vigilantes reduced the "unruly element" and established a semblance of law and order.[14]

In 1869, Wyoming was organized as Wyoming Territory, the first legislature of which passed a bill granting equal political rights to women in the territory. In March 1870, five Laramie residents became the first women in the world to serve on a jury.[15] As Laramie was the first town in Wyoming to hold a municipal election, on September 6, 1870, a Laramie resident was the first woman in the United States to cast a legal vote in a general election.[12]

Governor Francis E. Warren signed a bill that established the University of Wyoming (UW) in 1886, the only public university in the state. Laramie was chosen as its site, and UW opened there in 1887. Under the terms of the Morrill Act, also known as the Land Grant College Act, in 1891 UW added an agricultural college and experiment station to gain benefits as a land grant college.[16]

The city was covered by international media in 1998 after the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming. His murder generated an international outcry.[17] It became the symbolic focus for a nationwide campaign against gay hate crimes. Federal hate crimes legislation was signed into law in 2009.[18] As of January 2011, Wyoming does not have a hate crimes law.[19] Shepard's murder was the subject of the award-winning play, later adapted as a movie, The Laramie Project.[20]

In 2004, Laramie became the first city in Wyoming to pass a law to prohibit smoking in enclosed workplaces, including bars, restaurants and private clubs. Opponents of the clean indoor air ordinance, funded in part by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, immediately petitioned to have the ordinance repealed. However, the voters upheld the ordinance in a citywide referendum which was conducted concurrently with the 2004 general election. The opponents challenged the validity of the election in court, claiming various irregularities. However, the judge ruled that the opponents had failed to meet their burden of showing significant problems with the election, and the ordinance, which had become effective in April 2005, remained in effect.[21] In August 2005, Laramie's City Council defeated an attempt to amend the ordinance to allow smoking in bars and private clubs.

Laramie is on a high plain between two mountain ranges, the Snowy Range, about 30 miles (48 km) to the west, and the Laramie Range, 7 miles (11 km) to the east. The city's elevation above sea level is about 7,165 feet (2,184 m). The Laramie River runs through Laramie toward its confluence with the North Platte River east of the Laramie Range.

The city is about 50 miles (80 km) west of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and 130 miles (209 km) north of Denver, Colorado. Laramie lies along U.S. Route 30, Interstate 80, and U.S. Route 287, and it remains an important junction on the Union Pacific Railroad line.

Laramie's total precipitation averages about 11 inches (279 mm) a year, and the average number of rainy days per year is about 86. The city experiences a day that is 90 °F (32 °C) or warmer 2.2 times a year. The average temperature in December is 21.1 °F (−6.1 °C), and in July it is 64.0 °F (17.8 °C). Annual snowfall averages 48 inches (122 cm). Because of the high elevation, winters are long, and summers are short and relatively cool. The growing season is short, as the average window for freezing temperatures is September 14 through June 6, while for accumulating (≥0.1 inches or 0.25 centimetres) it is October 5 through May 12.

There were 13,394 households of which 20.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.0% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 56.4% were non-families. 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.85.

The median age in the city was 25.4 years. 15.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 32.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 17.4% were from 45 to 64; and 7.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.0% male and 48.0% female.

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 27,204 people, 11,336 households, and 5,611 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,442.5 people per square mile (942.9/km²). There were 11,994 housing units at an average density of 1,076.9 per square mile (415.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.81% White, 1.24% African American, 0.89% Native American, 1.92% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.89% from other races, and 2.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.94% of the population.

There were 11,336 households out of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.5% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the city the population was spread out with 17.5% under the age of 18, 31.8% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 107.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,319, and the median income for a family was $43,395. Males had a median income of $30,888 versus $22,009 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,036. About 11.1% of families and 22.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

Laramie Jubilee Days started in 1940 to celebrate Wyoming Statehood Day on July 10. Since then, Jubilee Days has expanded to include several days around the Fourth of July. Events typically include food, live music, games, carnival rides, a street fair, a parade, a softball tournament, and rodeo events.[28]

The Geological Museum at the University of Wyoming is open to the public and houses more than 50,000 catalogued mineral, rock, and fossil specimens, including a dinosaur exhibit.[29] The university's art museum offers gallery exhibits, lectures, workshops, classes, and public tours year-round.[30] The Fine Arts Concert Hall on campus presents frequent concerts and recitals during the school year.[31] Housed in the Ivinson Mansion near the center of town is the Laramie Plains Museum.[32] The Wyoming Children's Museum and Nature Center has interactive exhibits and pottery classes for children aged 3 and older.[33]

The central library of the Albany County Library system, with a wide range of materials for adults and children, is near downtown Laramie; the system's branch libraries are in Centennial, 28 miles (45 km) west of Laramie and Rock River, 32 miles (51 km) northwest of Laramie.[34]William Robertson Coe Library, the main library of the University of Wyoming, has materials for general research in business, education, fine arts, science, humanities, and the social sciences as well as audio visual and government documents collections. The Brinkerhoff Geology Library specializes in geology, geophysics, physical geography, mining and petroleum geology, and geological engineering. Also at the university are the George W. Hooper Law Library, the Library Annex, a high-density storage facility located in the basement of the UW Science Complex, the Rocky Mountain Herbarium Library, a learning resources center with materials for teachers and children, and an archives, rare book, and manuscript repository known as the American Heritage Center.[35]

Sports enthusiasts find much to do in and near Laramie, nestled at 7,165 feet (2,184 m) above sea level between the Laramie Range (Laramie Mountains) and the Snowy Range (Medicine Bow Mountains). Popular activities include skiing, snowmobiling, mountain biking, hunting, fishing, and hiking.

Climber at Vedauwoo

Rock climbing, hiking, and camping are among the attractions of Vedauwoo, an assemblage of weathered granite slabs, boulders, and cliffs covering 10 square miles (26 km2) in the Medicine Bow – Routt National Forest, about 16 miles (26 km) east of Laramie off Interstate 80.[37]

Volunteers from the Medicine Bow Nordic Association, in cooperation with the Forest Service, maintain groomed cross-country ski trails in a sector of the Laramie Range about 10 miles (16 km) east of the city.[38] To the west, Snowy Range cross-country trails run through the national forest west of Centennial, and other trails follow gentle terrain 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Laramie near Woods Landing. Miles of snowmobile trails wind through the forests, and many forest areas are open to travel by snowshoe.[39] The Snowy Range Ski Area, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Laramie off Wyoming Highway 130, offers downhill skiing and snowboarding on 27 trails ranging in difficulty from beginner to expert.[40]

Laramie is a center for mountain biking. Mountain bike trails meander through forests in the Laramie Range and the Snowy Range. The Medicine Bow Mountain Bike Patrol, part of the Laramie Bicycling Network, is a non-profit volunteer organization that works with the Forest Service to patrol and maintain biking trails east of Laramie. The Medicine Bow Rail–Trail is a mountain bike trail, 21 miles (34 km) long, built between 2005 and 2007 on the bed of an abandoned railroad southwest of Laramie. It starts near the town of Albany and Lake Owen and extends south to the town of Mountain Home near the Wyoming–Colorado border. The Laramie Enduro 111K, an endurance mountain bike race of 111 kilometres (69 mi) is held annually on Laramie Range trails.[41]

Other annual events include the Poker Run recreational ski race held in the Snowy Mountains each February, and the Tour De Laramie, a bicycle rally with stops at local pubs held in April. The Wyoming Marathon Races, a series of running and ultra-running events held in Medicine Bow National Forest, are held annually each Memorial Day weekend.

Trout fishing is another popular sport in and near Laramie. The Laramie River, which flows north into Wyoming from Colorado, is fished as are the smaller streams in both mountain ranges and the many small plains lakes in the Laramie Basin.[42]

Other outdoor activities popular near Laramie include camping, picnicking, rafting on the Laramie River and the North Platte River, viewing of wildlife such as mule deer, elk, moose, and pronghorn, and general sightseeing. For 27 miles (43 km) of its length as it crosses the Snowy Range, the Highway 130 corridor has been designated a National Forest Scenic Byway.[43]

Lincoln Monument as seen from inside the Summit Information Center off of Interstate 80 about 9 miles (14 km) east of town

Laramie has 14 city parks that, among them, include playgrounds, seasonal wading pools, jogging and biking paths, baseball and softball fields, a skateboard park, horseshoe pits, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a fitness circuit court, soccer fields, picnic tables, river fishing, and a seasonally stocked fishing pond.[44] Laramie residents also have access to the University of Wyoming's 18-hole golf course,[45] as well as a wide variety of university recreation sites including squash courts, handball courts, baseball diamonds, basketball courts, a climbing wall, and fields for football, soccer, and track.[46]

The Community Recreation Center has an outdoor swimming pool, an indoor pool, an eight-lane lap pool, water slides, a full-court gymnasium, cardio equipment, circuit weights, and an indoor playground, and it offers programs in adult fitness, youth volleyball, junior basketball, and aquatics.[47] The Community Ice Arena is open for ice skating, skating lessons, hockey, synchronized skating, adult co-ed broomball, and other ice-related activities from October through mid-March. A children's hockey club, a figure skating club, university hockey teams, and adult non-check hockey teams as well as the general public use the ice arena.[48]

According to a 2012 report by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), a former industrial site for the production of aluminum, arsenic acid, strategic metals and cement now owned by L.C. Holdings, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Laramie had arsenic concentrations in on-site water well samples 3,100-times higher than DEQ cleanup levels.[49] The site has been storing a 1,000-ton pile of contaminated flue dust from Bunker Hill Mine and Smelting Complex, an Idaho superfund site, under a tarp since the 1980s.[49] In 2011 L.C. Holdings entered the DEQ's "Voluntary Remediation Program".

Laramie has a council-manager form of government. The council, the city's legislative body, consists of nine members who serve overlapping four-year terms. The council members set policy, approve budgets, pass ordinances, appoint citizen volunteers to advisory boards, and oversee the city staff.[50] Two members of the council hold at-large seats, and seven are elected from city wards, one per ward. The council picks a mayor and vice-mayor once every two years at the first council meeting in January.[50] Laramie is the county seat of Albany County and houses county offices, courts,[51] and the county library.

In 2015, Laramie passed an LGBT anti-discrimination bill.[52] The ordinance bans discrimination against LGBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations such as bars and restaurants.[52]

Albany County School District#1, headquartered in Laramie, governs 19 public schools in an area of 4,000 square miles (10,000 km2) including Laramie, Centennial, Rock River, and rural locations. A total of about 3,400 students attend these schools, the Laramie fraction of which includes seven elementary schools, two middle schools, Laramie High School, and Whiting High School.[53] Snowy Range Academy, a charter school, serves children in grades K–7,[54] and St. Laurence, a Catholic school, serves children in grades K–6.[55] The University of Wyoming also offers a Lab School (colloquially referred to as "Prep") for K–9 students.[56]

The main campus of the University of Wyoming is in Laramie. In 2009, about 13,400 students were enrolled there at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels.[57] The Laramie County Community College is also in Laramie. WyoTech also has a campus in Laramie, offering career training in the automotive, diesel, and collision-repair industries.[58]

SkyWest Airlines (United) provides daily commercial flights between Laramie Regional Airport and Denver, Colorado.[64] The airport, 3 miles (5 km) west of the central business district, is operated and financed by the City of Laramie and Albany County. In addition to commercial flights, the airport serves private and corporate planes and atmospheric research aircraft from the University of Wyoming.[65]

Laramie has one taxi company, Snowy Range Taxi, LLC (formerly Here and There Shuttle, LLC), which has operated since 2011. The city is also served by Greyhound Lines, with service to and from Cheyenne and Fort Collins. Greenride of Northern Colorado provides service from Laramie to Fort Collins and Denver International Airport.

The city's drinking water comes from the Big Laramie River, the largest single source, and wellfields in the Casper Aquifer, and it is treated in a modern plant.[66] The city's wastewater plant, which replaced an older plant, began operation in 1998.[67] The Solid Waste Division operates the city-owned landfill, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the city.[68] Laramie has 135 miles (217 km) of streets and 31 miles (50 km) of alleys.[69]

^"Hell on Wheels: Truth or Fiction". Wyoming Postscripts. Wyoming State Archives. July 23, 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-04. Hell on Wheels, a television series with the backdrop of the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s..., Season 5, set in California and Laramie, Wyoming, premiered last Saturday.